With Open Arms
by FaithinBones
Summary: Three FBI agents are sent on a rescue mission. Now two agents are dead and the third one is missing.
1. Chapter 1

(After "The Heiress in the Hill")

Jenny1701: Perhaps Booth could be in a difficult/perilous position, possibly missing having to struggle to get back and realize that he is not really trying to get back to civilization/freedom but to Brennan. (There is a lot more to the prompt and its a great prompt but I had to put my spin on it. I hope it's okay.)

A/N: This story is rated T for violence. (Actually most of my stories are rated T.) It is just seven chapters long, so one of my short ones.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Startled from a sound sleep, Brennan scrambled to answer the phone, "Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan, I know Booth is on a special assignment, but a body has been found at The Point at Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. The body is lying partially in the river, next to one of the columns that used to support an old railroad bridge. The boater that found it called it in and the Sheriff's department checked it out. The body is mostly out of the water so it's safe for now. We'd like you to take a trip up there and make sure that the body is recovered properly and quickly. We wouldn't normally ask you to do something like this but the Sheriff's office thinks the victim is one of ours and we may have two other agents in danger."

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Brennan moved off of the bed and walked towards her dresser. "Yes, of course. Have someone pick me up outside my house in thirty minutes. I'll be waiting outside."

Ending the call, she called her father, "Dad, I need you to come and stay with Christine. Booth is away on an assignment and I need to drive up to West Virginia for a case. Agent Harris will be by in about 30 minutes to pick me up."

Yawning, Max slid out of bed and walked over to his dresser, "I'm on my way Honey."

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Stepping into the small boat, Brennan and Agent Harris quickly settled into the boat while the Sheriff's deputy waited patiently.

Moving the boat out onto the Shenandoah River, the deputy approached one of the stone columns in the middle of the river. The column partially surrounded by a stony island and dried brush sat as a sentinel in the river, a reminder of a violent past.

Deputy Clark, pointing at the broken columns evenly spaced in the river, informed his passengers, "These columns held up the B&O Railroad Bridge. The Confederates blew it up the first time. It was built and destroyed several times. After 1862 B&O built the new one made of iron. . . The body was found by a fisherman a few hours ago. The FBI has some people out there waiting for you."

Nodding, Brennan watched the column in the distance get nearer, "That's fine. As long as no one's touched the body."

Shaking his head, Deputy Clark responded, "Well, the fisherman moved him a little bit to see if he was alive. It was dark and he really couldn't tell. We were told to look and not to touch. It's obvious in the daylight that the guy is dead so believe me no one really wanted to bother the body."

Curious, Brennan asked, "What made you think the victim belongs to the FBI?"

Watching the river for underwater obstructions, the deputy responded, "He has an FBI t-shirt on."

Satisfied, Brennan watched as they made their approach to the column. The boat moving around the column from upstream, Brennan finally saw the body partially lying on the island. The upper torso was supported by the island surrounding the column, the lower part of the body was submerged in the river.

The deputy carefully moved the boat next to the island so that first Harris and then Brennan could leave the boat. Backing the boat up a little, the deputy waited in his boat for further orders. Another boat containing three FBI techs floated near the column, one of the techs holding onto a rock next to the boat.

Glancing at the techs, Brennan stepped carefully on the rocks and made her way over to the body. Calling out to the techs, she asked, "Have pictures been taken yet?"

One of the techs, holding up his camera nodded his head, "Yes, Dr. Brennan. We took everything we needed while we waited for you to arrive. If you need to move the body you can."

Squatting next to the victim, Brennan became uneasy. Noting the build of the body, the color of his hair and it's length, the skin tone, his apparent age, she felt a tightness in her chest. Placing her gloved hands on the body, she attempted to lift the body so she could get a better look at the face. Harris, trying to be helpful, pulled on some gloves and helped move the body over on its side so that Brennan could examine the front of the victim.

Nodding her head, Brennan said, "You can lower the body. His face has been obliterated. It appears that he was shot in the face at point blank range by what was probably a shotgun."

Lowering the body, Harris squatted on his heels and stared at the back of the victim's head. Clearing his throat, Harris asked, "Is it okay if I check something real quick? I want to check for something around his neck."

Worried, Brennan nodded her head and watched Harris move his hands around the neck of the victim. Observing the agent, she saw him slide his hand around the blood soaked neck of the t-shirt and pull a gold necklace out of the shirt. Pulling gently, he soon found the clasp and unclasped the necklace. Pulling it slowly, he soon had it in his hand, "Oh shit!"

Standing, Brennan leaned over and stared at the necklace in the man's outreached hand. Feeling a little sick, Brennan shook her head and moved her eyes over the body, trying to determine the shape of the victims shoulders and upper arms, "I don't think this is Booth."

Harris, standing slowly, pulled a plastic bag out of his jacket pocket and place the St. Christopher necklace in it for safe keeping. Placing the bag into his jacket pocket, the agent cleared his throat, "I'm sure you're right, this isn't him, Dr. Brennan. This may look like him but it isn't him."

Nodding her head, Brennan leaned over and picked up one of the arms, wiped the mud from the wrist and stared at it. Relief flooding her body, Brennan closed her eyes and felt a tear slip through her lashes. "It's not Booth."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Entering Brennan's office, Agent Morris Harris found it unoccupied. Scratching his head, he left the office and walked over to the platform. Staring at Hodgins, Harris called out, "Hey Hodgins, have you seen Dr. Brennan?"

Nodding his head, the busy man pointed in the general direction behind him, "She's in the examination room."

Exasperated, Harris responded, "Hey, Bug man, I don't know where that is. You know this is Booth's gig not mine. Take me to her, I need to talk to her and my calls are going to voice mail."

Reluctantly, Hodgins tore his gaze from a tray holding some very blood soaked clothes and walked over to the stair case, "Where is Booth? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

Crossing his arms, Harris answered, "He's where he is. You don't have enough clearance to know where he is."

Annoyed, Hodgins leaned on the rail, "Fine, find Dr. Brennan by yourself."

Glaring at the etymologist, Harris unfolded his arms and placed his hand on his gun, "Why don't I shoot you and then Dr. Brennan will come out from wherever she is to see what the screaming is all about?"

Snickering, Hodgins shook his head and walked down the staircase, "Yeah, yeah, I've been threatened by Booth for years. He'd never shoot me and neither would you."

His eyes boring in the smiling man, Harris growled, "I'm not Booth. He has the patience of a saint compared to me. I wouldn't push me if I were you."

Shrugging his shoulders, Hodgins led Harris to the anthropologist he was looking for. Leaning in the open doorway, he called out to Brennan, "Hey, Dr. B. Agent Harris is looking for you."

Turning, Brennan spied Harris moving past Hodgins and entering the room, closing the door behind him. Pointing at the skeleton on the table before her, Brennan informed him, "The face is too damaged for a facial reconstruction to be successful. Cam is running DNA tests but they take time."

Stepping further into the room, Harris stopped a few feet from Brennan and clasped his hands in front of him. "The DNA tests will be great, Doc but we think we know who this is. Agent Kent Roberts was assigned to a team that included Booth. Their team consisted of three agents. They were in the area of Harper's Ferry looking for a kidnapped child. We found the body of Agent Mark Rodrigue a few hours ago. He was shot in the face with a shotgun. His body was found by two of our agents about five miles from the river southwest of where our victim was found." Pointing at the body, Harris' finger wavered, "We're sure this was Agent Kent Roberts. We have two dead agents and a missing agent. We don't know where Booth is but we have men out looking for him right now." Retrieving a flash drive from his pocket, Harris placed it on the corner of the table holding the victim." This holds all the information you need to identify whether or not this is Agent Roberts. Agent Rodrigue's body is on the way to the Jeffersonian as we speak. His personal info is on the drive too. We're hoping you and your team can look over our dead agents and see if you can figure out where they've been. We need to find Booth and we need to know where to look."

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Does this sound interesting? Reviews would be great. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for your encouraging reviews. I appreciate them all. This is a reminder that this story is rated T for violence.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooo

Hodgins, hovering nearby, watched as Brennan and Cam carefully examined the body of Mark Rodrigue on the table before them. "I've gone over the clothing belonging to the victim found in the river and even though the clothes were water logged I did find some particulates other than river plants. So far I haven't found any unique plant life that could point to where Agent Roberts had been. I can tell you that the blood on the clothes belong entirely to the victim. The blood type matches Agent Roberts so it's looking more and more like it's him. He didn't have a wallet on him so I'm assuming the murderer took it although it could have been lost in the river. I checked on the DNA tests for you and they're still running. I'm going to go over Agent Rodrigue's clothes next."

Glancing at Brennan and then at Hodgins, Cam acknowledged his finds, "Good that's good. Let me know what you find out about the particulates as soon as you can. We need to narrow down where Roberts was killed. He clearly wasn't killed on the island where he was found. Chances are he was killed up river and his body floated down and his body snagged on the stones. The fact that his body wasn't found with Agent Rodrigue's body tells me that he was killed in a different spot and his body was either dumped in the river or his body fell in the river. We need to find out where he entered the Shenandoah. That will give the FBI an idea where to look for Booth."

Nodding his head, Hodgins turned his gaze upon his friend, "Dr. B, we will find out where Booth is. I promise you we will do everything we can to find him. The FBI hasn't given up and we won't either."

Her eyes remaining on the victim, Brennan nodded her head, "Yes, thank you. Booth is very adept at adapting to extremely dangerous situations. If we haven't found his body then we can assume that he is alive and waiting for someone to reach him to back him up in whatever situation he's found himself in. He's a sniper and he knows how to operate under extremely dangerous conditions."

Sighing, Hodgins spoke quietly, "I agree. He's survived a lot of shit overseas. He can take care of himself."

Watching Hodgins leave the room, Cam turned her attention back to the corpse lying on the table before her. "Hodgins is right. Just because we haven't heard from him doesn't mean anything. There are a lot of reasons why we haven't been able to contact him."

"Yes, you're right." Collecting shotgun pellets from the victim's face, Brennan carefully dropped them in a sterile container.

Noticing the slight tremble in Brennan's hand, Cam understood that the anthropologist was trying to be as professional as she could be to help them find her husband.

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Sitting in her office, Brennan held her hands over her eyes and tried to remain calm. It had been a long morning and they were still trying to find the place where Agent Roberts was killed. Dropping her hands, she reached for her phone and tried to call her husband again. After her call moved to voicemail Brennan left a message, "This is Brennan . . . This is Bones . . . I love you." Ending the call, she stared at her phone.

Cam, entering the office, moved over to the desk and cleared her throat, "The DNA test confirms the victim found in the water was Agent Kent Roberts. I'm going to start the autopsy on Mark Rodrigue in a few minutes. . . . Are you alright?"

Looking up, Brennan placed her phone on her desktop, "Yes, I'm fine.

Oooooooooooooooo

Weeping quietly, the child pressed her hand against the side of the man's head, her gaze flicking between his slack features and the bushes surrounding them. Keeping the pressure on the wound, she'd finally got the bleeding to slow down but she wasn't sure what to do next. Finally releasing her hand from the bloody area, she saw the blood start to weep again. Frightened, she removed her jacket and then her t-shirt. Tearing strips from the shirt, she made a pad of the material and laid it across the bloody gash on the side of the man's head and then tore strips to tie around his head to keep the pad in place. Once that was done, she put her jacket back on and buttoned it up. Using her mutilated shirt she tried to wipe the blood from his face and neck and then her hands.

Hearing him start to moan, the girl placed her hand over his mouth and whispered in his ear, "Please mister, you need to keep quiet. He'll find us."

Opening his eyes, Booth stared at the young girl leaning over him. She was disheveled, her face dirty and smeared with blood. Her jacket was also blood splattered and that caused him instant concern. Opening his mouth, the child pressed her hand tightly against his mouth. Whispering close to his ear, the pre-teen ordered him, "Don't talk please. He'll find us. Please don't say anything."

Nodding his head, Booth reached up and placed his hand over hers. After she uncovered his mouth, the young girl pointed to her ear and then his mouth and then placed her ear next to his mouth.

As quiet as could, Booth whispered, "Are you hurt?"

Moving away from his mouth, the child shook her head and then pressed her hand against his head.

Feeling pain lance through his head, Booth reached up and gingerly touched the area of his head that was covered by the pad. Removing his hand, Booth nodded his head. The child leaning over him, held her ear next to his mouth. His mouth dry, Booth spoke very quietly, "Who are you? Who are you afraid of?"

Placing her mouth next to his ear, the child said, "I'm Kathy Cogan. You snuck me away from my Daddy's camp last night. I heard shooting and he . . . I think he killed one of the men that was with you. He chased you and me and some other man who was with us and when you were shot your friend dragged you in this bush and then he said he was going to lead my Daddy away from us. The man didn't come back. I don't know where my Daddy is."

Leaning over the agent, once again she placed her ear next to his mouth. Booth, uncertain what was going on, tried to talk quietly, "Kathy, you can call me, Booth . . . I don't remember why I took you out of your father's camp."

Nodding her head, Kathy wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned over his ear, "My Daddy took me from my Mommy a few days ago. He said he was going to kill me and him if someone tried to take me from him again. My Daddy is a bad man. He killed my step-daddy when he took me and he hurt my Mommy. I don't know how my Mommy is. I'm afraid. . . . You found me picking firewood last night and . . . and you told me that you were going to take me to my Mommy and then you picked me up and walked away from the camp . . . My Daddy came after us. The two men with you tried to protect us and . . . and my Daddy may have killed one of them. I don't know about your other friend. . . . I'm afraid."

Rubbing his mouth, Booth glanced around the area and saw that they were lying under some bushes of some kind. Lifting up on his elbows, he peered around the bushes and then lay back down. Reaching in his jacket for his phone, he pulled it out and found that there were no bars on his phone. Placing it back in his pocket he licked his lips, closed his eyes and then forced them open again.

Feeling her small ear next to his mouth, Booth whispered, "Sweetheart, we need to leave but we need to stay here until it gets dark. Let me rest and as soon as the sun goes down, we'll try to get out of here. Is that okay? Can you wait?"

Tears streaming down her face, Kathy leaned over and spoke into his ear, "Okay." Wiping her tears from her face, Kathy lay down next to Booth and draped her arm across his chest, clutching his jacket tightly.

Reaching up and patting her small hand, Booth closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

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What do you think of my story so far?

A/N: Layla that was a mistake. Thanks for letting me know. I fixed it.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for your reviews and favorites. They are very encouraging.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooo

Entering the Lab, Max looked towards the platform and noticed his daughter standing up there talking to Hodgins. Carrying Christine over to the steps, Max called to his daughter, "Tempe, I thought you'd like to see Christine before I take her home."

Looking over towards the staircase, Brennan removed her gloves and tossed them in the bio-hazard waste can. Hurrying to the bottom of the staircase, she took Christine into her arms, hugged her daughter tightly and then kissed her. Smiling at the child, Brennan asked her, "Did you have fun today?"

Nodding her head, Christine smiled, "Yes, Mommy. I played with paints. I maded a horse."

Holding up the work of art, Max beamed, "We have a regular Picasso in our family." The purple and yellow blob had four legs and a tail and as far as Max was concerned it was brilliant.

Amused, Brennan shook her head and then smiled at Christine, "The horse is very colorful."

Nodding her head, the child asked, "Where's Daddy?"

Trying to keep a cheerful expression on her face, Brennan hugged the child and said, "Well, your Daddy is very busy right now. But he misses you and he loves you."

Clutching her mother, Christine whined, "Come home with me Mommy."

Rubbing her child's back, Brennan cooed to her, "I'm sorry Honey. Mommy has to help Daddy. Your Grampa Max will take you home and he'll let you call me before you go to bed."

Pressing her face against her mother's chest, Christine muttered, "Okay."

Reaching for the child, Max took her in to his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist. Brennan reaching out and running her hand over her child's head, leaned over and kissed her, "Mommy and Daddy loves you, Christine."

Patting his daughter's shoulder, Max tried to sound optimistic, "We'll go so you can help Booth."

Watching them walk away, Brennan walked over to her office, entered the room and closed the door behind her. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and tried to call Booth. Her voice going to voicemail, Brennan left a message, "I love you, Booth."

Placing the phone back in to her pocket, she used a trembling hand to remove a tear sliding down her cheek, opened the door and returned to the platform.

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Shaking him, Kathy finally was able to wake her rescuer. Watching him open his eyes, she placed her small hand over his mouth. Staring at the child, Booth nodded his head and slowly rolled over onto his stomach. Looking around, he found he could barely see since the sun had set and the shadows were deep under the bushes. Turning to face the child, he whispered, "Follow me and try to be quiet."

Nodding her head, Kathy waited until he crawled away from her and out into a very tiny clearing. Trying to be as quiet as she could be, she crawled out from under the bush and next to Booth. Leaning next to his head, Kathy told him, "I need to go to the bathroom."

Nodding his head, Booth crawled over to a rotten log and glanced over it. Pointing to the tree next to him, he whispered to her, "Stand next to that tree and go. I'll look the other way, okay?"

Embarrassed, Kathy crawled over to where the tree was and made sure Booth looked the other way. Booth, taking his phone out of his pocket, noticed he still didn't have any bars. Irritated and worried, he waited until he felt Kathy tap his back. Turning, he smiled at the child. "You wait here and look at that bush over there. I'm going to do what you did."

Nodding her head, Kathy waited until Booth returned. Feeling his hand touch her shoulder, she whispered, "I'm hungry."

Placing his hand in his jacket pocket, Booth withdrew a wrapped granola bar and gave it to her. Leaning next to her ear, he whispered, "We don't have any water. Don't eat too much of that. When we find water then you can eat the rest."

Opening the package, Kathy broke off a small piece and popped it in to her mouth. Placing the rest of it in her jacket pocket, she watched Booth hand her a piece of gum and then put a stick in his mouth. Smiling, Booth then said quietly. "I need you to follow behind me. If you get tired tell me and I'll try to carry you for awhile. No talking from here on out, okay? I'm going to walk very slowly but if it's too fast for you, tug on my jacket."

Nodding her head, Kathy waited for Booth to stand and then she grabbed the hem of his jacket. Reminded that the child was counting on him, Booth waited for the small bout of dizziness to leave him and then began to walk down the mountain, staying near trees and bushes, refusing to move out into any clear spaces.

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Agent Harris hurried into the Lab and headed straight for the platform. Running up the stairs, he set off the alarms which annoyed the security guard who swiped his card through the reader and glared at the FBI agent who continued up on to the platform.

"We found the spot where Agent Roberts went into the water." Stopping two feet from Brennan, he continued, "We had two agents with tracking experience searching for our agents from their last known position and they found Agent Rodrigue's body late this morning. They picked up Agent Roberts' tracks not too far from Rodrigue's body and followed them to where Roberts was murdered. He was killed about six miles down the river. We're going to have some agents meet up with our trackers in the morning. It's dark so the trackers are going to stay where they are. Once the sun comes up, they'll meet up with our other agents and they're going to start tracking the killer of Roberts."

Hugging herself, Brennan asked, "Did they see any signs that Booth was there?"

Shaking his head, Harris replied, "No and I'm going to take that as good news. There was another set of prints at the crime scene but they're too small to be Booth's. The tracks paralleled Agent Roberts' tracks to the river. We're assuming that the was the person who killed Roberts."

Nodding her head, Brennan felt a measure of relief. "Booth is very good at tracking and he's had extensive training by the Army."

Smiling, Harris responded, "Yeah, that cowboy will probably call us any minute now. He's probably found the little Cogan girl and he's taking his time getting out of the area because he has to deal with a hysterical ten year old. God knows the kid has a right to be, her step-dad murdered right in front of her and her mother shot too. Her father is one mean son-of-a-bitch."

Pointing at the body on the table, Brennan informed him, "During the autopsy of Agent Roberts, we discovered that he'd been shot in the face with a shotgun and in the shoulder with a .22. We've just discovered that Agent Rodrigue was shot in the face with a shotgun and in the back with a .22"

Surprised, Harris asked, "Who the hell carries around a shotgun and a rifle?"

Looking up from his PC, Hodgins volunteered, "A mean son-of-a-bitch that brings his victim down from a distance with a rifle and then uses a shot gun to shoot their victim's face off."

Oooooooooooooo

Sitting down next to a tree, Booth felt weak and tired. Worried, he moved his hand to his head wound and felt the pad squish a little. Shaking his head, he leaned back against the tree and tried to catch his breath.

Kathy, sitting next to him, reached in to her jacket pocket and handed the granola bar to Booth. Shaking his head, Booth whispered, "That belongs to you."

Shaking her head, she pressed the bar into his hand. Smiling, Booth broke off a small piece, pulled his gum out of his mouth and popped the piece into his mouth. Chewing it, he swallowed and realized that he was very hungry. Handing the bar back to the little girl, he watched her break off a tiny piece and eat it, placing the rest of the bar back in to her jacket pocket. Popping his gum back in to this mouth, he tried to work up some saliva to wash down the oats.

Rubbing her nose, Kathy leaned against Booth and wrapped her arm around his arm. Resting for about thirty minutes, Booth finally spoke to his tired charge, "Okay, let's go."

Releasing his arm, Kathy looked around and back at her rescuer. Watching him stagger to his knees and then stand, she stood up, brushed the dirt from the seat of her pants and grabbed the hem of his jacket. Following him as quietly as she could, Kathy worried that the man was sick. They were moving so slowly she was sure it was because he was having problems walking.

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Reviews would be great. Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for your encouraging reviews.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooo

Moving cautiously, Booth thought he heard a sound to his right. Squatting down, he reached behind him and pulled the little girl beside him. Placing his finger over his lips, Booth watched the child nod her head and sit down. Peering around the tree in front of him, Booth listened intently. Not hearing anything he shouldn't, he knelt on the ground and placed his hand on the ground, holding himself up. Closing his eyes, Booth rested for a few minutes and then patted Kathy's knee. Standing, he waited for the child to stand, grab the hem of his jacket and then moved slowly downhill.

As he moved, Booth thought he heard the sound of running water in the distance. Licking his lips, Booth knelt down and pulled the child next to his chest. Putting his lips near her ear he whispered, "I think the river is up ahead. We need to be very careful. When we get there, let me scout the area and if it looks clear we'll get a drink. River water isn't the cleanest water but we're both thirsty and I'm afraid we're dehydrating."

Nodding her head, Kathy whispered into his ear, "What does dehydrating mean?"

Amused, Booth whispered to her, "It means your body isn't getting enough fluid."

Frowning, Kathy licked her lips, "Okay."

Tired and worried about the child's safety, Booth told her, "I lost my rifle when I was hurt. Since I don't have it we'll have to rely on my pistol. I don't want you to worry about your Daddy. I'll protect you."

Nodding her head, Kathy smiled encouragingly at her rescuer.

Standing up slowly, Booth waited until the child grasped the back of his jacket and he continued to move slowly through the woods towards the water source. As the sound of the water grew louder, Booth started to move slower, careful to keep out of any small clearings. Scanning the area after a few steps, he repeated the process until he rounded a tree and saw the river before him. Grateful that the moon was new, he looked carefully up and down the river. Not seeing anyone in the darkness, he reached down and placed the girls hand on a tree. Pressing it lightly, he pointed to the right and smiled. Making motions for her to stay where she was, Booth cautiously moved five hundred yards down river. Not seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary, he then came back to where Kathy was standing and motioned for her to stay. Moving five hundred yards up river he was satisfied that they were alone and walked back to where Kathy was.

Leaning next to her ear, he said very softly, "Okay, be very quiet and don't say anything. We're going to get a drink and then we're coming back here, okay?"

Nodding her head, Kathy followed Booth onto the tiny beach and knelt next to the river. Cupping water in her hand, she drank as much as she could. Booth, doing the same, worried about water pollution and bacteria but continued to drink until he was satisfied.

Pulling the child back into the woods, Booth gave her a sad smile and whispered, "That wasn't too bad. Now we're going to walk slowly and carefully down stream until the sun comes up and then we'll stop. We're going to stay about 100 yards north of the river and we're going to be very quiet."

Grabbing the hem of his jacket, Kathy waited for Booth to move. Tired, she refused to complain. If Booth was sick he might get mad at her if she complained and he might leave her alone. She wasn't about to let that happen.

Ooooooooooooo

The sun beginning to rise, Booth found a wild blackberry bush and stopped. Surprised to find it close to a river, Booth decided not to question blind luck. Placing his arm around the child, Booth pointed and whispered, "See that? Those are blackberries. We can eat those. Just pick those you can reach and be careful of the thorns. Watch where you step and if you see a snake just back away, okay?"

Staring at the ground very intently, Kathy followed Booth to the bush. Stopping beside it, she pulled berries from the thorny limbs and popped them into her mouth. Chewing, she watched her friend pluck berries and eat them. After awhile, the sun started to move above the horizon and Booth stopped her. Pointing to less thorny bushes to the right, he pulled her along until they were near them. Moving to his hands and knees, Booth crawled underneath, the child following him. Once they were completely under cover, Booth lay down and sighed, grateful not to be moving. The child, lying down next to him, wrapped her arm across his chest, grabbed a handful of his jacket and closed her eyes.

Ooooooooooooooo

Agents Ted Trooper and Bill White, moving along behind the trackers, tried to stay alert. They already had two dead agents on their hands and another one missing. The trackers, David Small and Joe Curry, followed the tracks away from the river. After a couple of hours of tracking their prey southeast and then east, crossing a couple of roads on the way, they came upon the camp site that they had originally found the day before. Pointing east, Small said, "We found Agent Rodrigue's body two miles from here late yesterday morning. We had problems calling it in and Joe had to hike back to one of the roads before he could get any bars on his phone. Once he called it in, we waited for someone to come and pick up Rodrigue's body."

Continuing to follow the tracks, the group was stopped by Small about two miles from the camp, "We found Rodrigue's tracks along with Robert's and we suppose Booth's tracks and followed them from the camp to here. This is where we found Agent Rodrigue's body and then after his body was picked up we followed Agent Robert's and Booth's tracks further on. Now I'm assuming that these new tracks right here belong to Bruce Cogan and he was trying to track down Booth and Roberts."

Moving on, they had gone about a mile when Small stopped again. Pointing at some tracks to the side, Small surmised, "Cogan's tracks are mixed in with our guys' tracks twice. The first time he must have managed to track them from his camp. Their tracks went on east from the camp but for some reason, Roberts turned around and came back, heading west and then north to the river. Cogan's tracks were mixed in with Robert's tracks so we decided to follow those tracks. We followed them until we found where Agent Roberts must have been killed. Now that we know that Cogan came back up here we know he's looking for Booth and his kid. If Cogan had his kid he'd be long gone by now. Booth and the kid have to be out here somewhere. Let us look around and see what we can find."

Scouting around, Small and Curry pointed east again.

Speaking softly, Small informed the agents, "It looks like Cogan isn't following Booth's tracks and I don't know why. Booth's tracks leads southeast and Cogan's tracks lead towards the east. The tracks that lead southeast were made by a heavier man than Cogan. We're going to assume that it's Booth and the kid. We didn't see any tracks small enough for a child but if Cogan's daughter isn't with Booth then we don't know where she is. We'll have to assume she's with Booth until we find Booth."

Sighing, Agent Trooper frowned, "Okay, let's do it this way. Me and Joe will follow Cogan's tracks and you and Bill track down Booth. Our damn phones aren't working so we aren't going to be able to call for backup or each other. Be careful. Remember Cogan has already murdered three people. If you see the bastard just shoot him and worry about the paper work later."

Pulling out a bottle of water from his back pack, Small drank the entire bottle. Wiping his mouth, he started towards his assigned set of tracks with Agent White following quietly behind him.

ooooooooooooooooo

Hearing Booth moan, Kathy sat up and stared at the FBI agent's sweaty face. Afraid, she placed her hand on his forehead and found it to be warm. Remembering that her mother always gave her water when she had a fever, the child tried to figure out how to bring Booth some water. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her granola bar. Taking the bar out of the wrapper, she put the bar back into her jacket and looked at the wrapper. Putting it back into her jacket pocket, she slowly crept out from the bush and walked quietly down to the river. Once she was there, she watched the beach for several minutes. Finally feeling it was safe, she walked onto the beach, scooped up some water in the wrapper and carefully carried it back to the bush. Carefully holding the wrapper , she crawled under the bush to Booth. Once beside him, she put her finger in his mouth and pulled his jaw down. Once his mouth was open, she slowly poured the water from the wrapper into his mouth. Watching him choke a little and then swallow, she patted his face and whispered, "It's okay." Satisfied that he had been given water, she laid down next to him and clutched his jacket firmly in her hands. "I'll take care of you."

ooooooooooooooo

Reviews would be great. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for your continued interest in my story.

A/N: Hanky alert!

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooo

Holding up his hand, Agent Small stooped over and scanned the ground. "Okay, it looks like someone was dragged from here in to those bushes over there." Pointing at the scuffed ground, Small frowned, "Looks like whoever did the dragging tried to cover it up by spreading some leaves around over the marks." Squatting down, he placed his finger on a small pool of dark tacky material. Moving his finger up to get a better look, the Agent grunted, "Blood." Standing, Small walked over to the bush and held his rifle up."Hold this while I check it out."

Taking the rifle, Agent White scanned the forest around them as he waited. Soon, Agent Small walked back from around the back of the large bush. Holding up a small, torn, bloody t-shirt, he grunted, "This looks bad."

Handing Small his rifle back, White took the shirt and stared at it. "I don't know if this means the kid is badly hurt or Booth is."

Worried, Small explained, "It looks like Booth was shot and Roberts dragged him into the bushes. The child stayed with Booth. I found blood on the ground and the t-shirt. I think Booth was hurt and Roberts decided to lead Cogan away from Booth and the child. I don't know how long Booth and the girl stayed here but they crawled out of the bush to the other side when they left."

Walking back around the bushes, Small pointed at some visible tracks, "Okay it looks like they started walking south. Let's go." Following the tracks for about an hour, Small stopped and pointed, "Okay, it looks like Booth changed his mind and started walking west."

Following the tracks for another hour, Small stopped again, "See these tracks here, now he's moving northwest. Either he's lost or he has some plan I can't figure out."

Tense, White tried to loosen the muscles in his neck and shoulders, "Maybe he just wanted to give Cogan's camp a wide berth before he moved towards the river."

Biting his lower lip, Small sighed, "Maybe that's it. Booth is Special Forces, even hurt he'd be tough shit. His stride is short but I can understand why. The child is walking behind him and he doesn't want to get ahead of the little girl. I've seen blood once in awhile so I'm not sure just how bad he's hurt."

Curious, White asked, "Do you think you can track faster? He may be running out of time. He clearly needs help."

Irritated, Small shook his head, "I'm going as fast as I can. The ground cover around here makes it hard to track and that may be why Booth walked this way. He's avoiding clearings and open ground. His night vision must be pretty damned good. I don't know if I could navigate like this in the dark with no moon. It had to be as dark at the Stygian pit last night. . . Come on, we're wasting time." Following the tracks, Small and White started to move northwest towards the river.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Exhausted, Brennan was sitting in her bedroom, staring at Booth's memento box. She'd worked all of the day before and most of the night and had finally returned home an hour ago. She'd meant to sleep for a little while and then return to the Jeffersonian but her mind in turmoil, she couldn't find sleep. The box sitting on her lap, Brennan rubbed her hands over the lid, staring at the reddish color of the glistening cedar box. Having never looked in the box, Brennan felt like she was violating Booth's trust but she needed to connect to her husband and she knew the box contained personal treasures that Booth felt were important enough to keep. Her own memento box on the top shelf of the closet, she knew that it was the small treasures that helped anchor you to your past.

Opening the lid, Brennan found a medal box sitting on top. Opening it, she found a purple heart. She knew this was Booth's as his father's purple heart was in Edwin Booth's memento box. Closing the box, she found another medal box underneath and opened it to find a silver star. Placing the two medal boxes next to her on the bed, she looked in to the box and found ticket stubs to various games, a couple of movie stubs and two cigar bands. Noticing a folded piece of cloth, she opened it and found it be one of her handkerchiefs. Placing it aside, she also found some small family pictures and an envelope at the bottom of the box. Pulling it out, she held it in her hand and stared at the address. The letter had an APO address in the left hand corner and her address on the lower right of the envelope. Having never seen the letter before, Brennan pulled it from the envelope, opened it and read,

_Dear Bones,_

_If you're reading this then I'm dead. I hope it's okay but I wanted to tell you a few things and since I never really got to talk about it when we were together I decided that you should at least hear the words now._

_First, I love you. I have loved you for a long time and I always will. After my brain tumor I realized that my love for you was getting stronger and it was getting harder not to tell you. I know you hate the idea of love but just this once, just this one time, I need you to know that I love you and not in an atta girl kind of way. I love you like a man should love a woman, with my whole heart and my entire soul._

_I'm not telling you this to hurt you or make you sad. I'm telling you this because you're a wonderful person who deserves to be told that she's loved every day. I have loved you every day and I want you to know that._

_Second, I want to apologize to you for pushing you outside the Hoover. I don't know why I did that but I know I scared you and I never meant to do that. I realized just how much I'd scared you when you cried. I saw your tears and I knew that I'd really frightened you. _

_To be honest with you, deep down, when I told you I had to move on it was to show you that you'd hurt me too. I'm human and I can be petty like anyone else. I'm sorry I did that. I didn't mean to be mean to you. I was confused and I was hurting and you were hurting and I just didn't know what to say or do to fix what I'd done. _

_I've thought about it and I'm still not sure if I really meant it when I told you I was going to move on. I wanted to tell you that I'd changed my mind and that I wanted to wait for you but then I realized that you wouldn't want me to do that because you didn't love me. I would never force myself on you, Bones. I love you too much to make you be something you aren't or to do something you didn't want to do._

_I sure didn't move on like I thought I would. I dated Catherine a couple of times but she wasn't you and I just couldn't make myself love her. If I do move on before I die, it will have to be with someone like you. You're the standard Bones. I really meant that when I told you that. You're the type of woman that I could love forever and I don't know if there really is anyone out there that will come close._

___I should have told you I love you before this but I was too afraid to try. I hope you'll forgive me for being a coward and not telling you when I was alive. I just didn't know how to do it and still keep your friendship._

_Anyway, since you're reading this, I'm gone now and I'm up in heaven watching over you. I promise to keep an eye on you and when it's your turn to pass on I'll be waiting for you with open arms. I love you Bones. Never forget that. I love you._

_Love Seeley Booth._

Tears falling onto the open sheet of paper, Brennan folded it back up and stuffed it back in the envelope. Placing the envelope back in the box, she placed the medals back in the box and closed the lid. Standing, she carried the box back to the closet, knelt to place it back in it's special spot and started to sob. Bending over the box, she held the box in her hands and cried.

Ooooooooooooooo

What do you think of my story? Just two chapters left.

A/N: (1)Stygian – refers to the murky darkness of the River Styx or Hades. (2)Since the letter has an APO address, you can assume he wrote the letter while he was in Afghanistan.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for your wonderful reviews. They are very inspiring.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooo

Waking, Booth rubbed his eyes. Feeling exhausted, he turned his head and whispered, "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

Sitting up, Kathy nodded her head. "Are you okay now?"

Feeling the pad over his wound, Booth felt that the pad had started to dry which was a relief to him. "I'm alright, Honey. I'm just tired."

Scrunched over, the child volunteered, "I can go get you some water."

Waving his hand, Booth smiled, "No, that's okay." Looking overhead, he noticed that the shade was deep, "Did I sleep all day?"

Speaking quietly, Kathy nodded her head, "Almost. I looked at your watch a while ago and it said 4:17."

Moving his watch so he could see the dial, he noticed the time was 4:43. Licking his parched lips, he frowned, "Sweetheart, we probably should go ahead and try to walk up river. I think we'll eventually end up near Harper's Ferry. I don't feel well and I don't want you to be out here by yourself if something happens to me."

Anxious, the child lay across Booth's chest and clutched his arms, "Please don't leave me alone."

Patting her back, Booth murmured, "Kathy, I won't do that if I can help it. Just give me a minute and we'll go back to the beach. I'll make sure it's safe and then we'll drink some more water. I hate drinking that water but it's all we have. When we get back, we need to tell a doctor we did that. You need to remember to tell someone you drank river water, okay?"

Nodding her head, Kathy buried her face in his chest, "I will. I promise."

Rubbing her back, Booth smiled, "You've been very brave, Sweetheart. You've been a big help too."

Releasing Booth's arms, she sat up and stared at her rescuer, "You too, Booth. You've been very brave."

Chuckling, Booth rolled onto his stomach and felt a little nauseous. Swallowing, he let his stomach settle down and then crawled forward until he was out from under the bushes. Kathy following him out squatted next to Booth as he sat on the ground looking around. Satisfied, he stood up and pulled Kathy up to her feet. Placing his finger over his lips, he pulled her gently towards the river. Once he'd scouted the area and they'd drunk their fill, Booth and Kathy reentered the forest and started to walk down stream slowly but steadily towards Harper's Ferry.

Ooooooooooooooo

Agents Trooper and Curry tracked Bruce Cogan most of the morning and part of the afternoon and were sure he was going to hike into Virginia but around three in the afternoon his tracks took a northern turn. Shaking his head, Curry stopped and drank some bottled water, "It looks like Cogan is heading back to the river."

Mopping his face with a handkerchief, Agent Trooper agreed, "I thought he might hike out to Loudon Heights and catch a ride somewhere. But yeah, it looks like he's headed back to the river."

Placing his empty bottle in his backpack, Curry started following the tracks again, "I hope Booth just followed one of the roads to Harper's Ferry Park. He could have found help there."

Shaking his head, Trooper responded, "He may not have wanted to be caught on the road with the kid in tow. Booth knows that Cogan is still out here and he's killed at least three people and hurt another. Booth probably decided to get to the river and then walk up to Highway 340. He and the kid could cross the bridge into Harper's Ferry from there. It's what I would do if I wanted to try to avoid Cogan. Being on a road would leave him vulnerable."

Following the tracks, Curry frowned, "Of course, we don't know how badly Booth is hurt. We aren't sure he's even thinking straight and with a frightened little girl with him his situation can't be good. I just hope to God he doesn't die out here. That kid might not have a chance if he does. She's only ten. She may not know to what to do and panic."

Exhaling deeply, Trooper followed Curry but kept an eye on his surroundings as much as possible. "If Booth took them to the river then they crossed several roads, maybe the kid would walk back to one of them and then try to find help that way."

Shaking his head, Curry protested, "If you're old man killed your step-dad, shot your mom and kidnapped you, would you just walk along a road looking for help. I sure as hell wouldn't, ten years old or not. She might be too afraid to go anywhere."

Annoyed, Trooper responded, "Kids are smarter than you give them credit for. She'd probably walk along the river until she found help that way. She'd be undercover most of the time if she did it that way."

"Okay, whatever." Stopping to check the tracks he was following, Curry started moving northwest, "Damn it, now he's moving northwest."

Following Curry, Trooper muttered, "He's still heading for the river, Joe. Let's stop talking. I don't want that bastard Cogan to hear us coming after him."

Oooooooooooooo

As they moved through the woods, Booth started to feel like his legs were going to give out. Stopping, he pulled Kathy further into the woods looking for someplace to rest. Finding a thick set of bushes, Booth pushed his way under them, Kathy following him. Once they were completely under cover, Booth closed his eyes and whispered, "Just give me a little time, Sweetheart then we'll move on."

Worried, Kathy removed her granola bar from her pocket, placed it in Booth's hand and lied, "I filled up on berries before you woke up. You can have my granola bar."

Nodding his head, Booth ate the rest of the bar slowly, trying to make it last. Finished, Booth turned to stare at his young charge, "Thank you."

Leaning against him, the child smiled, "You're welcome."

Gathering his strength after a few minutes of rest, Booth wormed his way back out from under the bush and pulled Kathy with him. Kneeling before her, he helped her stand. Touching the wound on his head he dropped his hand and swallowed, "Sweetheart, if something happens to me, keep following the river until you find a road that crosses the river. When you find it run across as fast as you can and then start banging on houses until you get someone to help you. Tell them you want them to call the police to help you. Whatever you do, don't get into anyone's car or go in anyone's house. Just tell someone you want the police to come get you. Can you remember that?"

Swallowing, Kathy threw her arms around Booth's neck. "Please don't leave me."

Hugging her, Booth frowned, "I won't if I can help it, Sweetheart. You know I won't." Releasing her, Booth smiled sadly, "If something happens to me though you have to be brave, okay?" Seeing her nod, Booth squeezed her shoulders, "One more thing, if you see my wife, tell her that I love her, can you remember that? Her name is Temperance Brennan. I just need you to tell her that I love her."

Nodding her head, Kathy felt tears escape from her glistening eyes.

Using his thumbs to wipe the tears from her dirty face, Booth frowned, "It's okay Kathy. I won't leave you on purpose."

Standing, Booth swayed a little and took a deep breath, "Okay Sweetheart, let's go." Reaching up and grabbing his jacket, Kathy followed Booth towards Harper's Ferry.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Coming out of the woods and standing next to the river, Agent Small pointed at the small river bank, "They stopped here. I'd guess that they drank from the river."

Scrunching his nose, Agent White remarked, "Booth must have lost his back pack."

Shrugging his shoulders, "I'd drink muddy water if I was thirsty enough."

Adjusting his back pack, White responded, "Me too. Does it look like they went up stream or downstream?"

Scanning the area, Small pointed down river, "Towards Harper's Ferry."

Sighing, White smiled, "Thank God. Let's go."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Reviews would be wonderful. Thank you.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for your kind reviews. This is the last chapter. It's longer than most of my chapters but I don't think you will mind.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Moving slowly, Booth walked through the brush and undergrowth as quietly as he could but he knew he was failing to maintain the silence they needed. His head was throbbing, his legs felt like water and the child trailing him was exhausted and hungry. He was certain that if he hadn't been hurt they'd already be in Harper's Ferry but the weakness he'd been dealing with since he'd been hurt had greatly affected him and he worried that he was going to die before he got Kathy to safety.

They'd been following the river for about thirty minutes and he was certain they weren't too far from highway 340. Cursing his weakness Booth plodded along, his head muzzy and his strength slowly leaving him. The child aware that Booth was in distress had stopped holding onto his jacket and had taken his hand in hers. Moving in front of him, she started pulling him steadily behind her. Watching where she was walking, she kept the river to her left and moved cautiously through the woods, her FBI agent now docile, letting her lead.

Approaching a piece of heavy undergrowth, Kathy made the decision to veer towards the river, pulling Booth behind her. Once they were closer to the river, the child decided it would be easier to walk on the strip of beach, so she pulled Booth down the slight incline to the strip of beach and then walked downstream with fewer obstructions in their path. Spotting the bridge crossing the river in the distant, Kathy began to feel hope that her nightmare was almost over.

Moving steadily, Kathy suddenly felt her federal agent release her hand. Turning she saw him fall to the ground, his eyes closed, his breathing shallow. Rushing to his side, Kathy knelt down beside him and rubbed his shoulder, "It's alright, you rest for a few minutes and then we'll go, just rest."

Oooooooooooooooo

Moving up river, Small kept his eyes on the tracks while White kept an eye on the surrounding woods. Shaking his head, Small sighed, "They keep stopping. I don't like it."

Stepping out onto the river bank, White peered ahead, "Booth is getting weak. We need to hurry."

Nodding his head, Small agreed, "You're right, they're following the river. Let's pick up the pace. I don't think they're that far ahead of us. They've stopped so many times I think we've almost caught up with them."

Ooooooooooooooo

Following Cogan, Trooper and Curry soon heard the distant sound of the river ahead. Curry remarked, "When we get to the river, I bet he heads up river. I bet he's thinking he can cut off Booth before he gets to Highway 340."

Shaking his head, Trooper responded, "I won't take that bet. I think he'll do the same thing. Let's try to hurry. Cogan is still ahead of us."

Nodding his head, Curry started moving faster, Trooper close on his heels.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Sitting next to Booth, Kathy thought she heard a noise down river. Afraid, she shook Booth's shoulders, but he was unconscious and she couldn't get him to wake up. Nervous, she flipped the holster open on Booth's hip and pulled his .45 from it's resting place. Moving around Booth, she squatted in front of him, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Resting the barrel of the gun on her knees, she soon saw someone approaching them. Soon her father was close enough for her to recognize him even though the sun was starting to set, making it more difficult to see the man.

Cogan, spying his daughter squatting in front of a man laying on the ground, motioned for the girl to come to him, "I knew I hurt that bastard. Kathy, you come here."

Terrified, the child held up the heavy gun and screamed, "No, you go away. Leave us alone."

Furious, Cogan took a few steps closer, "If you don't drop that gun and come here I'm going to beat the shit out of you. No one pulls a gun on me, not even my own daughter."

Shaking her head, the child screamed once more, "You go away, Dad. Leave us alone. Booth and me are going to that town across the river. You leave us alone."

His temper barely under control, Cogan took another step and raised his rifle, "You see this rifle, I'm going to shoot your friend and then I'm going take that gun from you and I'm going to give you a well deserved whipping you hear me?"

Shouting in anger and fright, Kathy raised her gun and warned him, "I'll shoot you like you shot my Mom. I'll shoot you if you don't leave us alone. We want to go to town. Leave us alone."

Sneering, Cogan lifted his gun and aimed it at Booth's head, "I warned you, you stupid girl."

Moving his finger towards the trigger, Cogan heard the sound of the crack of a rifle shot and immediately afterward felt intense pain in his lower chest. Dropping his rifle, he looked down at the bright red blossom growing on his chest. Puzzled, he placed his hand over the wetness and fell to the ground.

Terrified the pre-teen turned and aimed her gun at Small and White and they approached, "Leave us alone. Please leave us alone."

Lowering his rifle to the ground, Small held his hands up, "Sweetie . . . Kathy . . . I'm a friend of Booth's. Me and Bill are here to help him and you. . . . You saw what I did to your Dad, I did that to protect you and Booth. . . . Lower the gun, Sweetie."

Trembling, Kathy slowly lowered the gun and started to cry, "Please help us. Please help us."

Racing to Booth's side, Agent White knelt by the agent and felt for Booth's pulse. Retrieving his phone from his jacket pocket, he noticed he had bars, "Thank God."

Small, walking over to where Bruce Cogan lay, retrieved the man's rifle from the ground and slipped the strap holding the shotgun against the murderer's back away from him. He then frisked the downed man and removed a knife from a sheath at the man's waist. Once that was accomplished, he felt for Cogan's pulse. Standing up, he carried the confiscated weapons over to where Booth lay and informed White, "The guy is still alive."

Laying across Booth's chest, Kathy stared into the face of her friend, "Please wake up Booth. Please wake up."

ooooooooooo

Waking, Booth stared at the ceiling and puzzled over what he was seeing. Reaching up to touch the wound on his head, Booth felt clean gauze instead of the squishy pad he'd been feeling for the last two days. Spying a pole with a bag hanging from it, tubes descending to his arm, he realized he was safe. Fidgeting, he turned to look around the room and spied his wife, asleep on a chair. Concerned, Booth tried to remain silent so that he wouldn't disturb her but his need to speak to her was almost overwhelming. His dilemma was taken out of his hands when she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Thank goodness, I was beginning to worry." Standing she moved over to the bed and kissed him.

Her kiss a balm that he needed, Booth returned the kiss, taking comfort from her.

A nurse peeking into the room around the door, smiled and withdrew from the doorway, closing the door behind her.

Satisfied that he was awake and aware, Brennan remarked, "We were all worried about you."

His curiosity demanding an answer, Booth asked, "Bones, what are you doing here?"

Leaning over and kissing him again, Brennan pushed away the fear that had been nibbling at her since she'd arrived and found him unresponsive. "They called me and told me that you'd been located and that you were in the hospital with a severe concussion and dehydration. I had to come, Booth. I needed to make sure you were okay."

Placing his hands on her arms, Booth returned her kiss, "I'm fine. I have a headache but I think I'm okay. The last thing I remember was walking through the woods with Kathy. Is she okay? Nothing happened to her did it?"

Shaking her head, Brennan sighed, "Booth, she's fine. They told me that several agents were out looking for you and Kathy and found you next to the river. Cogan tried to kill you but one of the agents shot him before he got the chance. Cogan died on the operating table shortly after they started surgery. I would have been here sooner but no one told me where you were until six hours after you were found. I guess the situation was chaotic. I drove up here as soon as possible, but there was an accident on the 270 just below Germantown and I was trapped there for four hours while they tried to clear it up."

Kissing her again, Booth smiled, "You should have stayed home. I'm leaving here as soon as I can."

Entering the room, Dr. Meade frowned, "No, I'm afraid not, Agent Booth. I need you to stay until at least tomorrow. You're dehydrated and suffering from a severe concussion. Your wound site is infected and that sir is not good since we're talking about your head. We have you on antibiotics for that plus I'm not happy about the fact that the only water you did manage to drink was river water for the last couple of days. I can't let you go home until I see your fever go down at least."

Turning his gaze towards Brennan, Booth complained, "Bones, I want to go home. Take me home."

Shaking her head, Brennan placed her hand on his face and frowned, "No, Booth. You were unconscious for two days. This is the first time you've opened your eyes since they found you. You need to stay here until at least tomorrow. I'll be here so you won't be alone. Christine is with Dad so we don't have to rush home."

Annoyed, Booth turned to look at the doctor, "Fine. I'm hungry. When do I get to eat?"

Before he could answer, the door opened and a young girl raced into the room. Running over to the bed, Kathy climbed up on the bed and threw her arms around Booth's neck. Crying, the child kissed the agent's cheek. "I was so worried about you. They wouldn't let me see you until the doctors saw me and they made me eat and then they made me talk to some men and then I had to talk to my mom on the phone and then I talked to my grandma and then I told them I had to see you but they told me I had to wait for you to wake up and you did so here I am." Taking a deep breath, Kathy looked at Brennan, "Who are you?"

Smiling, Brennan answered the question, "I'm Booth''s wife, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Oh, I have a message for you." Glancing at Booth, Kathy wiped the tears from her face and turned her gaze back to Brennan, "Booth made me promise to tell you that he loves you when I saw you." Patting his chest, Kathy leaned down and then placed her hands on the sides of his face, "See, I remembered to tell her."

Chuckling, Booth winked at the child, "Thank you, Kathy. When are you going home?"

Swiveling around, Kathy pointed at Agent White who was standing in the doorway, "That man is going to take me to see my Mom. He said I could see you first so we waited for you to wake up."

Leaning around Kathy to see who she was pointing at, Booth smiled, "You take care of Kathy, Agent White."

Smiling, Bill nodded his head, "You bet although as far as I can tell, she can take care of herself."

Uncertain, Booth smiled at Kathy, "It was nice knowing you Kathy. Thank you for taking care of me."

Proud, Kathy smiled, "You're my friend, Booth. I had to take care of you."

Sliding down from the bed, Kathy waved at Booth as she walked over to where White was standing. "Okay, we can go see Mom now."

Taking the child's hand in his, the agent grinned, "Well, let's go then."

Watching the girl and the agent leave the room, Dr. Meade smiled, "That kid is a real trooper. She should be a nervous wreck but not her. She was bragging a little while ago that she plans to be an FBI agent when she grows up."

Glancing at the closed door, Booth smiled, "She did better than most adults I've had to deal with."

Patting Booth's shoulder, Meade informed him, "I'll have a light meal brought in for you." Patting him again he left the room, leaving Brennan and Booth alone.

Leaning over and kissing him, Brennan admitted, "I was very worried when they couldn't find you."

Moving over, Booth held his arm out, "Want to snuggle? I know I could use a real snuggle."

Taking her shoes off, Brennan laid on the bed on her side. Draping her arm around his chest, Brennan rested her head on his shoulder, "I love you Booth. I've loved you for a long time. I don't want to imagine my life without you. It's too unbearable."

His arm around her shoulders, Booth leaned down and kissed the top of her head, "I don't want to imagine a life without you either, Bones. I love you."

ooooooooooooooooooooo

At home, sitting on their bed, Booth was flipping through the channels trying to find something interesting to watch when he noticed Brennan enter their bedroom, "Hey, I think I'm going to go downstairs and watch a movie. It's boring up here and I can't find anything to watch on TV."

Walking over to the closet, Brennan opened the door and retrieved Booth's memento box. Standing she turned and stared at her husband. "When you were missing, I . . . I did something that you may not approve of."

Wary, Booth flicked his gaze between his cedar box and Brennan's sad face, "Uh . . . what?"

Carrying the box over to the bed, Brennan sat down on the mattress next to her husband and opened the box. Removing the letter she'd opened, she turned and held it up for Booth to see."I was feeling sad that we couldn't find you and so I looked through your memento box. You've showed me some of the items in the box before, so I didn't see any harm in looking at them again . . . . I found this letter addressed to me and I opened it."

Rubbing his eyes, Booth leaned back on the headboard, "I probably should have thrown that away. Too much has happened since I wrote that."

Shaking her head slowly, Brennan asked, "Why didn't you? After you started a relationship with Hannah would you really have liked for me to have seen this letter if you had died?"

Smiling, Booth reached over and took the letter in his hands, "Yes, I think I would have. Everything in the letter is true and I meant what I wrote." Staring at the envelope, Booth frowned, "I was afraid that if I died over there, we'd have unfinished business between us and I didn't want that to happen. I wanted you to know that I loved you. I should have told you before you went over to Maluku but I didn't. Maybe that whole Hannah thing may have never happened if I'd just had the courage to tell you that . . . You needed to hear it Bones even if I couldn't do it in person. I didn't want you to think I blamed you for anything that happened between us. I loved you and I wanted to make sure that you knew that."

Reaching out and taking the envelope back, Brennan held it in her lap, "Thank you, Booth. If you had died it would have meant everything to read this letter. Thank you."

Reaching over and pulling her into a firm embrace, Booth sighed, "I love you Bones. I love you now more than ever. Don't ever forget that. When I was up on that mountain, I kept thinking of you and how I needed to get home to you and Christine. The thought of you being alone almost drove me crazy. It made me move when I didn't think I could move anymore."

"You asked Kathy to tell me that you loved me." Wiping a tear from her cheek, Brennan sniffed, "You were afraid that you were going to die and you asked the child to tell me that you loved me."

Smiling, Booth rubbed her back, "Yes, I wanted to remind you that I loved you. I didn't want you to think I left you on purpose. I'll never do that, Bones."

Leaning upwards, Brennan kissed her husband with an intense passion. Surprised, Booth returned the kiss until he felt entirely breathless.

Separating, Booth breathed deeply, "I'm fine, Bones. I'll be good as new in a few days, you'll see."

Kissing him lightly on the lips, Brennan smiled, "I know you will be. Are you hungry? I can go get you something."

Rolling over with her in his arms, Booth stared into her crystal blue eyes, "I'm very hungry, Bones, but not for food."

ooooooooooooooooo

This is the last chapter of this story. Thank you reviewing it. I appreciated all of your reviews.


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